Ajit Varadaraj Pai at FOX Studios on November 10, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

After nearly a year of lobbying on both sides of the FCC’s proposed repeal of net neutrality protections, tech companies and internet service providers await an FCC ruling Thursday to determine the fate of plans opposed by roughly eight out of 10 Americans, polling suggests.

Nearly 100 quarterly reports filed by those who lobbied the FCC this year cite the words “net neutrality” or “internet freedom.”

The reports represent at least 18 telecommunications companies, trade organizations and conservative advocacy groups who lobbied the FCC in opposition of net neutrality. Collectively, the organizations have spent $110 million in federal lobbying this year.

Another 24 groups have lobbied the FCC to maintain its existing net neutrality protections, including tech companies and web content providers such as Amazon, Facebook and Twitter. Together, this coalition spent just over $39 million.

Both sides of net neutrality sought to influence the FCC while simultaneously dumping $6.5 million into the campaigns of both Republicans and Democrats. (The figure includes contributions to candidate committees and their leadership PACs from individuals and political action committees).

Since January, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has received the largest contribution from pro- and anti-net neutrality groups ($100,800), according to CRP’s analysis of campaign filings, split almost equally between entities that support and oppose net neutrality

The second highest Republican recipient was Oregon Rep. Greg Walden ($88,700) who was greeted this summer in his home district with billboards criticizing his harsh critique of the FCC’s initial 2015 ruling on net neutrality. More than 83 percent of those contributions came from entities that oppose net neutrality.

The groups who have lobbied the FCC this year in support of net neutrality have contributed a combined $5 million to 484 current members of Congress. Contributions aren’t directly donated by corporations, but rather from employees and their family members as well as from corporate PACs.

Those seeking to overturn the FCC’s ruling in favor of deregulations – specifically, internet service providers, such as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T – have contributed roughly $1.5 million to 273 members of Congress.

Of the 535 members of Congress, 495 (or 93 percent) have received campaign contributions from groups who lobbied the FCC on net neutrality. Those members included 265 Republicans, 228 Democrats and two Independents – Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine.

]]>Taking Care of Their Own? Not All New Party Committee Chiefs Were Big Givershttps://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/taking-care-of-their-own-not-all-new-party-committee-chiefs-were-big-givers/
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/taking-care-of-their-own-not-all-new-party-committee-chiefs-were-big-givers/#respondTue, 18 Nov 2014 17:34:28 +0000http://www.opensecrets.org/news/?p=6658With Monday’s announcement that Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) will lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, all four House and…

While a mix of skills lead to success in these slots, contributions from leadership PACs are often thought to enhance candidates’ chances to be named or elected to party leadership positions. OpenSecrets took a closer look at each of the four incoming party committee leaders.

Wicker will lead the NRSC and its vast fundraising efforts into 2016, an election in which the consensus view is that the map favors Democrats.

The junior senator from Mississippi seems to have succeeded due to a combination of factors. As the Washington Post pointed out, many of the Republican Senate caucus’ high profile members are either running for re-election in 2016 or preparing to launch presidential bids.

In addition, Wicker apparently earned the respect of his colleagues through his successful efforts to help save Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) from a stiff, tea-party backed primary challenge.

Through his leadership PAC, Wicker contributed $15,000 to Cochran’s campaign — more than he gave to any other candidate (a figure that normally would be over the limit, but Cochran faced a primary, runoff and general election). Wicker also gave $2,000 to Cochran’s campaign from his own campaign committee, and he defended the Cochran campaign’s maligned GOTV tactics and criticized donors for supporting his tea party opponent instead of throwing their money into competitive races against Democrats.

Overall, Wicker doled out $152,500 to Republican candidates from his leadership PAC, Responsibility and Freedom Work PAC — including $10,000 apiece to seven other Republican senators. And further, Wicker’s PAC also contributed $31,760 directly to the NRSC.

Wicker himself cashed a series of checks from high profile Republicans over the past few years, receiving leadership PAC money from Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Orrin Hatch (Utah).

Tester’s chief opponent for the job was thought to be Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). The recently re-elected Coons withdrew late in the game, though, leaving Tester the last senator standing. Coons said the job’s extensive travel commitments and its partisan nature led him to pull his hat from the ring.

Treasure State PAC, Tester’s leadership PAC, donated $172,000 to Democratic candidates in the 2014 cycle, $151,000 of it to Senate candidates.

Tester also contributed $60,000 from Treasure State PAC directly to the DSCC. And he donated $1,712 to Sen. Mark Begich‘s (D-Alaska) re-election effort directly from his own campaign committee.

In addition to controlling the flow of NRCC money this cycle, Walden distributed a hefty $435,500 of his own leadership PAC money to GOP candidates. His New Pioneers PAC ranked ninth in 2014 among the top-giving leadership PACs.

Walden’s PAC also contributed $22,500 to the NRCC.

DCCC

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) surprised those watching closely Monday by naming Lujan the next chairman of the DCCC. He wasn’t among the five candidates reported to have met with Pelosi in recent days.

And he clearly wasn’t chosen for his monetary generosity: Lujan’s Turquoise PAC contributed a modest $30,000 to fellow House candidates during the 2014 cycle and a comparably meager $2,500 to the DCCC.

Pelosi instead cited Lujan’s “operational” skills, specifically in the areas of messaging and getting out the vote; the job isn’t just about raising and dispensing campaign funds.

He’ll be the first Latino to occupy the position, replacing Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), whose efforts were unable to keep Republicans from gaining their largest majority in decades.

]]>https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/11/taking-care-of-their-own-not-all-new-party-committee-chiefs-were-big-givers/feed/0Dave Brat’s New Buddieshttps://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/10/dave-brats-new-buddies/
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/10/dave-brats-new-buddies/#respondFri, 17 Oct 2014 15:23:24 +0000http://www.opensecrets.org/news/?p=6014It appears Dave Brat has given up running on a shoestring for a new pair of Air Jordans. The Republican…

]]>It appears Dave Brat has given up running on a shoestring for a new pair of Air Jordans.

The Republican nominee for Virginia’s 7th District congressional seat became a political celebrity overnight by defeating House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a June 10th primary — despite a multimillion dollar fundraising disadvantage.

The tea party-supported Brat was able to use Cantor’s fundraising chops against him, arguing that Cantor was beholden to his corporate contributors rather than his constituents.

“I am running against Cantor because he does not represent the citizens of the 7th District, but rather large corporations seeking insider deals, crony bailouts and a constant supply of low-wage workers,” he wrote in the Richmond Times-Dispatch days before the primary.

Running in what is considered a solid red district, Brat is viewed as a heavy favorite to defeat his Democratic opponent and fellow Randolph-Macon College teacher Jack Trammell.

Despite campaigning against his corporate donors, Brat can now count many of Cantor’s former supporters as his own.

According to his third quarter FEC report, filed earlier this week, Brat’s campaign has received contributions from several corporate PACs that had been Cantor donors, including those of tobacco giant Altria, professional services firm Deloitte and AKSM, a medical company.

Brat’s campaign has received more than $550,000 from all donors since July 1, according to the filing. Most of that — $468,000 — came in contributions of greater than $200, and nearly a third of those large donations were sent in by groups or individuals outside Virginia.

While liberal publications saw Koch fingerprints all over Brat’s candidacy following his primary win, in fact both Koch Industries’ PAC and David Koch personally donated to Cantor’s campaign.

Despite its name, the Senate Conservatives Fund, which supports tea party candidates, has contributed almost equally to House and Senate candidates this cycle.

Unsurprisingly absent from Brat’s latest list of donors are Wall Street investment banks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Brat had a field day during the primary campaign criticizing Cantor for his top donors: Employees from Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Blackstone Group ranked Nos. 1 and 2 for Cantor’s campaign committee and leadership PAC combined. It takes money to raise money, and Brat’s campaign spent almost $50,000 on fundraising-related expenses last quarter, more than $30,000 of which went to a variety of fundraising consultants.

Still, while it’s true Brat’s fundraising has ramped up along with his political profile, his total receipts of close to $1.2 million this cycle don’t come close to those of his former opponent. In fact, Cantor refunded more to his donors after losing the primary — $1.5 million — than Brat has raised since he began running.

]]>https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/10/dave-brats-new-buddies/feed/0Dissidents Haven’t Seen the $ Love from Boehner, Cantorhttps://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/10/dissidents-havent-seen-the-love-from-boehner-cantor/
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2013/10/dissidents-havent-seen-the-love-from-boehner-cantor/#respondThu, 03 Oct 2013 15:16:58 +0000If money builds loyalty on Capitol Hill, and if the House Republican leadership has been giving it out hand-over-fist, why can't House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor make the shutdown go away? There's a reason.

]]>A new Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows that the House Republican leadership has raised an extraordinary amount of money so far this year and given it out to other House members at record rates.

So, if money is the great pacifier on Capitol Hill, why can’t Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his No. 2, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) snap their caucus in line, on the government shutdown or on other matters?

Maybe because the hardcore dissidents in the Republican caucus get almost no money from the leadership. Boehner can’t pull strings he hasn’t tied.

Yesterday, the New York Timesidentified 20 Republican House members “standing their ground” against Boehner, dissidents who have been a consistent thorn in Boehner’s side and who seem to be pushing the current shutdown.

We analyzed how much money those 20 have received from the leadership PACs of top Republicans in the House and how much assistance they were given in the 2012 election by the National Republican Congressional Conference.

According to OpenSecrets.org data, there’s been almost no money going to these 20 from top party leaders, and most were elected without any help from the NRCC. In other words, they don’t owe party leadership much.

That fact is particularly striking because in the first six months of 2013, Cantor gave away $875,000 to other candidates through his leadership PAC, ERIC PAC. That’s a record: No leadership PAC has ever given as much to candidates in the first six months of an election cycle. So far in the 2014 cycle, ERIC PAC has given money to 122 other House Republicans, but only eight members of the group of dissidents have received any cash from Cantor this cycle. Altogether those eight received $55,000 from Cantor’s PAC. (A full list of donations from Cantor and other members of the leadership to the 20 is below.)

Boehner, whose leadership PAC, the Freedom Project, has given out $213,000 to 39 candidates this cycle, gave to just one member of this group of 20: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who received $5,000.

Leadership PACs aren’t the only tool for creating financial ties that help ensure a member’s loyalty. The GOP party committee for the House plays a major role, and while Cantor gives an unprecedented amount of money directly to other candidates, Boehner gives far more — at least $2.3 million in the first six months of the year — to the NRCC, which then uses it to help candidates directly.

But there are even fewer ties between the NRCC and these 20 Republicans. NRCC contributions to candidates in the 2012 and 2014 cycles combined come to roughly $460,000 combined, so far. The amount that went to any of these 20 Republicans? $5,300.

The NRCC’s current chairman, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has not given any of the 20 a dime from his leadership PAC in either the 2012 cycle or the current one.

Nor did the NRCC knock itself out making independent expenditures on behalf of the 20 in the 2012 cycle. While it spent $62.7 million in 59 races, it helped just one member of the dissident faction, according to OpenSecrets.org data: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who benefited from about $521,000 in NRCC-paid ads, mostly attacking his Democratic opponent.

In his bid last fall, Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), received some very minor assistance from YG Network, a politically active nonprofit associated with Cantor, which spent $12,966 supporting him.